


It's Not a Date

by swimmingwolf59



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam is oblivious, Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 18:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17792273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimmingwolf59/pseuds/swimmingwolf59
Summary: Two times Adam didn’t know it was Valentine’s Day.





	It's Not a Date

**Author's Note:**

> Maggie would probably be appalled if she ever found out I wrote this (and I agree with her honestly), but inspiration struck, so here I am xD;;  
> I hope you all enjoy~

When Lynch asked Adam to pizza that night, Adam didn’t think twice about it.

They had only recently stepped into friend territory, but even before then it wasn’t unusual for just the two of them to be at Nino’s. Noah was a flighty figure and frequently unreliable, and Gansey was so unbelievably popular that often, even if he started the night out at Nino’s, somewhere along the way he would head outside with his phone in his hand and never come back in. What he did or who he was talking to was always a mystery, but Adam probably wouldn’t be able to tell the rich assholes apart anyway so he never bothered asking.

The point was, having pizza with just Ronan was nothing strange.

But that night it sure _felt_ strange.

Having the misfortune of being right next to Aglionby, Nino’s was usually filled to the brim with Raven Boys, all of them loud, inappropriate, obnoxious, or some combination of the three to the point that it could be deafening inside the restaurant. Adam often had trouble hearing his friends, even when they were practically shouting at him.

But today, there were no Raven Boys. Nino’s was ominously quiet. Instead, the pizzeria was filled with couples; there wasn’t a single table that had more than two people sitting at it, and the pairs were often a woman and a man staring dreamy-eyed at each other across the table. Adam even witnessed a couple drinking the same milkshake out of two different straws, an act that no one would _dare_ with Raven Boys around.

The only odd pair was him and Ronan. Ronan seemed oblivious to the strange state of Nino’s, or he just didn’t care; with him it was hard to be sure. But he _was_ fidgeting, now that Adam was paying closer attention. His fingers tapped a restless rhythm on the table that Adam was pretty sure came from one of his EDM songs (if it could be called that) and his knees kept bonking against Adam’s under the table. More than once he caught Ronan glancing around like a trapped animal, scowl deepening each time he did it.

Frowning Ronan was usual, but _nervous_ Ronan was not.

Not only that, but the waitress kept _smiling_ at them.

“…Is it just me, or are there a lot of couples in here?” Adam asked when he couldn’t stand it any longer.

“No, there totally are, it’s fucking weird,” Ronan growled. “It’s giving me hives.”

Adam snorted. “You do look like you’re about ready to bolt.”

“I was thinking about it.” Ronan smashed a bread stick into a paper cup of ranch. “There’s only so much romance I can stand to be around, especially hetero bullshit.”

This surprised a laugh out of Adam and he nodded his head in the direction of the couple drinking out of the same milkshake. Ronan twisted his neck to see what he was gesturing at and then banged his head back against the booth with a loud groan. “Oh for fuck’s sake, straight people are the _worst_!”

He said it loudly enough that several people glanced their way with disapproving frowns. Ronan gave them all the finger as Adam desperately tried to hide his laughter behind his hand. “Well, I guess this saves you the trouble of having to come out to anyone.”

“It’s none of their damn business anyway,” Ronan retorted, but Adam saw the grin on his face the split second before it disappeared.

“Here’s your pizza – thanks for waiting,” their waitress said, setting their avocado and cheese pizza down (which Gansey wasn’t even there to _eat_ ). Adam thanked her but, to his surprise, she lingered at their table. “Um, sorry if this is kind of weird, but I just wanted to say I’m glad to see the two of you out tonight. It’s hard to be out in a town like this and, well, I just think it’s great you guys aren’t letting that stop you.”

Adam and Ronan exchanged a confused look. Adam quirked his eyebrow, silently asking if Ronan had any idea what she was talking about, and Ronan gave a quick shake of his head before saying to the waitress, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

She blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was out of line, wasn’t it? …Enjoy your pizza!”

And then she dashed away.

“…Well that was weird,” Adam said when she was out of earshot. “Is there something special about today?”

“It’s Thursday – Thursdays are pretty shitty,” Ronan said, aggressively picking out the avocados from the pizza. “Stupid fucking Dick and his fucking ‘health’ food – it’s _pizza_.”

Adam rolled his eyes. He wasn’t picking off the avocados—because that would be a waste—but he didn’t especially like them on pizza, either. “You think all days of the week are shitty.”

“I have yet to be proven wrong.”

Just then, Ronan’s phone buzzed loudly. As smooth as a machine, he plucked it out of his pocket and tossed it to Adam, who caught it with his free hand, chewing as he checked the text.

It was from Noah, and it read: _RONAN NIALL LYNCH ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ON A DATE RIGHT NOW???_

Adam choked on his food.

“What? Who the fuck is it?” Ronan asked.

Adam showed him the text and then something unbelievable happened:

Ronan got flustered.

He didn’t just start babbling like a lunatic; like with most other things, as Adam was learning, Ronan reacted to emotions with his entire body. It was the way his eyes got wider, and the piece of pizza slowly slipped out of his hand and onto his plate with a wet thud. It was the way the blush started at the base of his neck and then spread upwards in messy splotches until even the top of his shaved head appeared red. It was how his fingers were now tapping even faster than before and his legs were trembling so much it was shaking the entire table. It was the way he opened his mouth, but all that came out were incomprehensible syllables and incomplete questions and swears.

Adam had literally never seen him like this. He almost wondered if he should take notes for Gansey’s record.  

“…Why the hell does he think we’re on a date?!” he yelled finally; the adorable blush on his cheeks as he snarled the words made it a million times better.

Adam hid a smile in his shoulder and texted the question to Noah.

Noah replied immediately: _BECAUSE IT’S VALENTINE’S DAY??? DUH???_

“Oh fuck,” Adam said and, to Ronan’s raised eyebrow, “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“Shit,” Ronan growled. “I forgot about that garbage.”

“That explains why there’s so many couples in here,” Adam said. He felt stupid for not connecting the dots sooner. “That’s why that waitress said what she did – she thought we were a gay couple having a date in one of the most conservative small towns in the state.”

Ronan said absolutely nothing. When Adam glanced up at him, he was very pointedly not looking at Adam, but instead somewhere just behind him. The blush was still strong on his face and he looked only marginally calmer than seconds ago.

Honestly, Adam should’ve realized it then, but somehow he missed that, too.

Instead, what came out of his dumb mouth was, “We’re _not_ on a date though, right?”

Ronan barked out a shrill laugh and shook his head vehemently. “Definitely not.”

 

\--

 

_~two years later~_

When Ronan asked Adam to pizza that night, Adam thought nothing of it.

They’d been friends for years. Noah was still a flighty figure and frequently unreliable, though now he had given up the pretense of at least _pretending_ to get ready to go. Gansey had cut down considerably on the number of things he was doing and the number of people he decided it was worth it to talk to, but now he was often off smooching Blue, an activity that Adam didn’t want to be anywhere near.

And so Adam and Ronan would hang out at Nino’s by themselves all the time.

But something seemed off tonight. There was a strange absence of Raven Boys and Nino’s had dimmed their lighting to the point where it _almost_ pulled off looking like a semi-fancy establishment. There were also _a lot_ of couples around, and—

…Wait a minute.

“Lynch,” Adam started and Ronan grinned.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, loser,” he said and tossed a piece of pepperoni at Adam.

It bounced off his cup and nearly into his soda as Adam glared at Ronan suspiciously. “What the fuck Lynch, we’re here on Valentine’s Day _again?_ There’s no way you did this accidentally.”

Ronan just stared at him. “…Adam, did you seriously not know this was a date?”

“…No?” Adam stared back. “You’d think you’d tell a guy it was a date when you invited him.”

Ronan snorted loudly. “Well gee, excuse me for assuming that asking my boyfriend out counted as a date.”

Adam blanched. “ _Boyfriend?_ Since when have I been your boyfriend?”

Ronan’s face became carefully blank. “…Since like last year?”

“Wha—” Adam was absolutely flabbergasted. “No I haven’t! What?”

“Parrish.” Ronan’s face was doing something funny, like he was trying very hard not to laugh. “Adam. We’ve been dating for almost a year.”

“But,” Adam protested, “but we don’t do like _coupley_ shit—”

“Let’s see, let’s go through the list.” Ronan’s blank expression was melting and a smirk was pulling at the corner of his lips. Adam had a bad feeling about _that_. “We kiss, a _lot_. We sleep in each other’s beds – hell, you have _your own side_ of my bed. We take drives around town and see movies together and, as much as I _hate_ seeing other people do it, drink the same milkshake out of two different straws. We hold hands. You like running your fingers across my scalp and I like playing with your hands. We’re touching each other, like constantly. Do I need to go on?”

“Well that’s—” Adam didn’t know what it was. He honestly had never questioned it. The addition of touches and kisses and intimacy had been so gradual that Adam couldn’t even say when it had started. It hadn’t felt like a monumental shift anyway, whenever it was.

Apparently Ronan had been paying a lot closer attention.

Ronan was laughing. “Holy _shit_ , I can’t believe you didn’t know we’ve been dating for a whole year!”

“I don’t—That can’t—Give me your phone.” Adam held his hand out towards Ronan impatiently. “Does _everyone_ know about this? Surely no one else thought we were dating.”

“Go right ahead – see for yourself.” Ronan handed over the phone and then leaned back in his chair, an obnoxious grin on his face. He was obviously enjoying himself. “Gansey gave us an ‘it’s almost your anniversary probably’ present this morning, so I’d say that’s a pretty big hint.”

“What, that mint plant? How is that an unusual gift?”

“It wouldn’t be if he just gave it to you, but he specifically gave it to _us_ – it’s sitting at the Barns right now!”

“That’s just because I don’t have any room for it at St. Agnes,” Adam protested, but his hands were starting to shake a little as he texted all of their friends. There was _no way_ he’d missed something as major as having a boyfriend for a _whole year_ , right?

But soon enough, the phone was flooding in with replies:

From Henry: _It’s only been a year? I thought you guys were dating longer than that_

From Noah: _YES I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN DATING!! WAS THAT A QUIZ? DO I GET A PRIZE???_

From Blue: _adAM PARRISH PLEASE DON’T TELL ME YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE DATING RONAN FOR A YEAR LMAO THAT’S AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!_

And, the killer, from Gansey: _Of course. Why else would I give you both a mint plant?_

Adam sagged against the table, Ronan’s phone falling out of his limp hand. “…I can’t believe this.”  

“After that non-date we had here two years ago, I thought it’d be funny to have an actual date here,” Ronan went on, grinning. He was absolutely reveling in Adam’s defeat. “But shit, I didn’t know you _still_ thought we were having a non-date!”

“Shut up,” Adam growled weakly. “For fuck’s sake. Why did we never talk about this?”

“Didn’t think it was necessary.” At Adam’s glare, Ronan ducked his head almost shamefully. “…I thought it was pretty obvious how I felt.”

“Well yeah, it _was_ —” Ronan kicked him under the table for this, “—but it’s kinda a big jump from having a crush on me to being my _boyfriend_.”

“So let me get this straight, all of those times you made out with me and couldn’t keep your hands off of me, you thought we were just _friends_?”

Adam’s mouth opened and closed. “Well—”

“And then when we’d wake up in bed together, all tangled up, you’d think, ‘Gee, I have no romantic feelings for this guy whatsoever’?”

Adam was blushing now. “I—”

“Who else of our friends have you been kissing, Parrish?” Ronan laughed, and _goddamn him_ he was enjoying this way too much.

“Was it really so wrong to think we had something special without putting a label on it?” he finally said. His whole body felt like it was bright red.

“I didn’t say _wrong_ , I loved the hell out of whatever you thought it was,” Ronan said, finally leaning forward in his chair again. “But we were totally dating. Are still dating.”

“Wait hold on, we’re still not technically dating.” Ronan leveled him with an unimpressed stare. Adam waved his hand at him. “Go on, Lynch, we gotta do at least _something_ right.”

“Alright, alright. Adam Parrish?” And holy fuck he was _batting his eyelashes_. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

“Yes, you absolute _asshole_ ,” Adam growled and stood up to kiss Ronan harshly over the table. “Now for the love of God, _please_ stop batting your eyelashes – it’s creepy as fuck.”

Ronan, of course, batted his eyelashes again. “But it’s what finally got you to go out with me!”

“I hate you so much,” Adam hissed. “See if I accidentally date _you_ ever again!”  

Ronan laughed so loudly it could be heard throughout the entire restaurant despite the din. “Hell, Parrish, if that’s what accidentally dating you feels like, I can’t wait to see what _actually_ dating you is like.”

Adam rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help but smile. Fuck, how had he not realized sooner how head over heels he was for this stupid, beautiful boy?

For the rest of their date (for it truly was a date now), they ate pizza. They threw food at each other and crossed their legs together under the table, something that had become second-nature what felt like a long time ago. They made fun of the straight couples in the restaurant and ignored the waitresses gossiping about them.

When they finished their meal and piled into the BMW to go back to the Barns, Adam instinctively slot his fingers in between Ronan’s on the gear shift. Ronan grinned and drove 90 on the highway, windows down and hollering into the night. Once they’d pulled into the Barns’ gravel parking lot, they spent an hour making out in the car before they went inside, their flushed skin keeping them warm even in the winter chill. They each kissed Opal good night and retreated to Ronan’s bedroom, where Adam had an entire drawer dedicated to his clothes. He teased Ronan relentlessly about his duck briefs and slipped on one of Ronan’s old tank tops to sleep in. Ronan flipped him off and stole Adam’s recently discarded t-shirt to use as a second pillow.

And with each and every thing they did, Adam realized it was something they’d been doing for months. He had no idea how he’d missed this obvious shift in their relationship, but he apparently really had.

“I feel incredibly stupid,” Adam said as he flopped down onto his side of the bed. …Fuck, he really _did_ have his own side of Ronan’s bed.

“You should,” Ronan said, collapsing nearly on top of him and peppering kisses on Adam’s neck. “I don’t know how someone so smart can be so fucking dumb, but it’s kinda hot.”

“Shut up,” Adam growled, cupping Ronan’s neck so he could guide him up to his lips. They kissed and kissed, each one slow and languid, more about intimacy than arousal. Adam couldn’t believe how easy it was, how natural it felt. He was so comfortable with Ronan that it was absolutely ridiculous he hadn’t noticed sooner.

He would tell him he loved him, eventually, but not today. For now, he wanted to keep at least _some_ part of his dignity.

They broke apart marginally to breathe. Adam rubbed his thumbs along Ronan’s sharp jawbones, the way he knew he liked, and grinned. “Happy one day anniversary.”

Ronan huffed out a laugh and pressed forward to kiss him again. “Asshole.”

**Author's Note:**

> Adam: happy two-day anniversary, boo! 😉  
> Ronan: Adam we’re married this stopped being funny ten years ago
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!! Come talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/kaoru_of_hakone) or [tumblr](https://swimmingwolf59.tumblr.com/) :D


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